# Did men and boys wear earrings in the time of the Prophet and the early Muslims?

*Earrings in the Prophet's time and among the Salaf, and how later clergy turned against them*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/pkjtq8axgre/s/3/
- Date: 2019-07-24 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Holistic Overview: Can Men Wear Earrings? -Mufti Abu Layth (10:22–13:00)
- Status: a more recent answer exists: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vhqvm47pns0/s/3/; general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkjtq8AXGRE&t=622s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/pkjtq8axgre/

**Topics:** Jewellery, gold and silk for men; The companions

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** In the Prophet's society and among the Salaf boys commonly wore earrings, and many considered it sunnah for a boy. Later Sunni clergy prohibited the practice, perhaps influenced by the Christian church, while the Shia kept it alive.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says that boys commonly wore earrings in the Prophet's time and among the Salaf, that later Sunni clergy prohibited the practice perhaps under the influence of the Christian church, and that the Shia kept it alive.

**Evidence, his words at 10:54:** “you will see that in the society in which the Prophet lived boy is especially young boys wore earrings and you will see that this trend continues or at least during the time of the selleth” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkjtq8AXGRE&t=654s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth finishes the backdrop by noting that sailors wore earrings to show they had travelled the world, and that across diverse societies earrings were never generally seen as exclusive to women. Zooming back into the Islamic setting, he says that in the society in which the Prophet lived men, and especially young boys, wore earrings, and that this continued during the time of the Salaf, the Sahaba, the Tabi'un and their successors, when boys commonly wore earrings and many considered it sunnah for a boy; when they became men some removed them and some kept them, but their wearing them as boys was widespread. He says that as the centuries progressed much of mainstream Sunni orthodoxy and its clergy stamped down on the practice and prohibited it, just as the Christian church of Europe had and perhaps under its influence, and that the Shia differed from the Sunnis on this point and kept the practice alive to the present day. He then introduces the sources, beginning with a hadith of Ibn Abbas in the Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani [?], which he says several scholars including a recent authority of al-Azhar [?] declared sahih.

## Sources and names cited

- the Salaf
- Sahabah
- Tabi'un
- Shia
- Ibn Abbas
- al-Tabarani [?]
- al-Mu'jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani [?]

## Transcript (machine tier, 10:22–13:00)

[10:15] hippies and so on and and now it's just recent this has been something that has existed for thousands and thousands of years often worn by men usually men of nobility or soldiers this was often I think sailors who travelled around the world often wore earrings as a sign to show that they traveled around the world throughout this is throughout huge parts of history diverse societies this was never seen generally as a thing exclusive to women now I'm just giving us a backdrop now I'm going to kind of

[10:54] zoom back into the Islamic sentiment in the lifetime of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam men wore ear you will see that in the society in which the Prophet lived boy is especially young boys wore earrings and you will see that this trend continues or at least during the time of the selleth that during the Sahaba the terrain and the at-bat urbane this trend seems to carry on that the boys often wore earring and many people considered it sooner for the boy to wear an earring

[11:32] now you see when they became men many of them may have removed it the earrings and some of them may have kept it but the fact that they wore earrings as boys was definitely a widespread phenomenon during the era of the Salaf now later on as the centuries progressed it is true that Muslim culture by and large not all especially within the mainstream like an hour and I'll come back to this in a moment that especially a lot of the so-called Sunni orthodoxy the clergy

[12:10] started to stamp down on these things and prohibit it just like the Christian Church of Europe and they may have been influenced by the Christian Church of influence in doing this and hence you see that she are refused on this point of the Sunnis so this the Shia seem to have kept it alive in their tradition right through up until today so now we're going to come back now to some of the sources so you will find a hadith which is transmitted by if not a bus or the Allah on who states that subrata -

[12:47] Sun and this is in the the marginal all sort of tehrani and it's been declared by several scholars including the recent legend Maya - Sharia of al-azhar asahi even Abbas says seven seven or from the Sunna for the boy fist he says fasabi regarding the boy Yoma survey on the seventh day as a ceremony he will formally be named so he goes through all of these things that he will be circumcised and he's talking about the boy and it goes on to mention that what to Scott or

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment pkjtq8AXGRE/s/3. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/pkjtq8axgre/s/3/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.